Chilling photograph of iceberg that sank the Titanic

This chilling photograph of the iceberg that sank the Titanic was taken on the morning of the disaster.
Photo by: Wikimedia Commons

Photos of the iceberg that may have sunk the Titanic became available as the world commemorated the 100th anniversary of the liner’s sinking in 2012. Today marks the 113th anniverary.

One of the most striking images of the disaster, the picture has been preserved by Topham Picturepoint/Press Association Images and shows the iceberg which the Titanic ploughed into at 11:40pm on April 14, 1912.

The iceberg lay at latitude 41-46N, longitude 50-14W, off the coast of Newfoundland. Newspaper reports of the time said that the visible part of the iceberg – that above the waterline – was anywhere between 50 to 100 feet high and 200 to 400 feet long.

The chief steward on board the Prinze Adelbert liner took the photo of the iceberg on the morning of the Titanic sinking.

Reports say he spotted a line of red paint along the bottom of the iceberg which experts believe show where it had made contact with Titanic.

TheJournal.ie reported that the steward was not aware at the time that it had been the iceberg that sunk the Titanic but the location, the marks on the iceberg and Titanic survivors’ descriptions of the iceberg triangulated to confirm that it was.

Meanwhile a memorial garden has been opened in Belfast to commemorate all those who died aboard Titanic.

The garden, in the grounds of Belfast City Hall, is the only one in the world which names all of those who perished on the liner.

Bronze plaques bear the names of the 1,517 passengers and crew who died on sailing from Cobh to New York.

The MS Balmoral cruise ship, currently retracing the Titanic’s voyage, has held two memorial services at the site of the disaster, 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland.

Rev Huw Mosford, who led the prayers, said: “We hope this will bring healing, and some form of closure, perhaps but I think it will also bring hope.”